Fostering Europe-India links in marine science

This week PML scientists are in India for the second INDO-MARECLIM Winter School, held in Kochi.

INDO-MARECLIM is an EU FP7 programme to foster Europe-India links in marine science, with emphasis on monsoon and climate variability, marine ecosystems and coastal zone management.

PML is a partner in INDO-MARECLIM ("Indo-European research facilities for studies on marine ecosystem and climate in India") with PML scientists Professor Trevor Platt and Dr Shubha Sathyendranath taking leadership roles in the project.

During the winter school, which is an inter-disciplinary training programme, a select group of instructors from India and Europe are providing lectures and practical training on recent advancements in the global understanding of marine ecosystems, climate change and their socio-economic impacts. Attending the school is a combination of Indian and European students, plus invited experts for lectures, making a total of approximately 50 participants.

Earlier this week, there were presentations from PML's Professor Trevor Platt (discussing "Colour of the Ocean") as well as a lecture by PML's Dr Dionysios Raitsos, pictured above ("Monsoon variability and its effects on the biology of the Red Sea").

In addition to the direct educational role of the Winter School, its purpose is to help develop collaborative research. Climate change and variability, specifically related to the Indian Ocean, have a profound influence on the Indian monsoon, and on marine biological production, biodiversity and the integrity and functioning of marine ecosystems. Monsoon, coastal upwelling, climate variability and resultant fluctuations in marine fishery resources have significant impact on the livelihood of coastal fisher folk.

INDO-MARECLIM addresses the above issues by way of model experiments, remote sensing studies and analyses of data collected and compiled from different sources.

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